Sooo Many Pickups to Choose

[MagicBaller21]

Well, ive narrowed down my choice to 3 pickups:
Custom Shop '69s
Custom Shop '54s
or Vintage "Hot" Noiseless

I've heard a few bad things about the Vintage Noiseless, but everything ive heard about the HOt Noisless has been good (from about 3 sources online). I cant find a sound clip. I was wondering if any of you guys know about them.

I wont be doing much distortion (prolly only up to UK 80s on my VOX). My current pickups sound unclear when i get into distortion. What is the difference between the '69s and '54s? i seem to be lacking info on each pickup...

 

[MagicBaller21]

ok, well im really leaning toward the '69s. i figure that since i bought a strat, i might as well go for what a strat is meant to do! im just afriad that they wont be much different than the stock (tonally). and are there any things i should tell the installer to install, any mods that are nice to have with these pickups?

 

[tremoloman]

I've got an American Deluxe with the S1 system and installed CS '69s in her. It is one of the best sounding Strat I've ever heard! It has the same exact tone Jimi used in "Castles Made Of Sand" and "Little Wing".

You can hear some samples of these pickups here:
http://www.acmeguitarworks.com/webpage.aspx?webpage_id=1#clips

 

[MagicBaller21]

i just found a site called: Guitar Fetish Sales that makes a variety of pickups for about a 1/3 of the price of the Custom Shop pickups. Ive heard a bunch of good things about these pickups, im looking to get these: http://store.guitarfetish.com/provalstpiou.html or
http://store.guitarfetish.com/pralstpiourb.html

has anyone had any experience with GFS? the only think that is holding me back is that it'll cost $30 each for my store to install them! I have no experience with soldering, so im a little worried about trying to install them myself. I contacted the guy there, and he said: "We do a pre wired guard with all high end stuff- Ornage Drop caps, CRL switches, cloth wired- your choice of pickps- hand wired here for $135"

i thought that this might make things cheaper, but i guess not. is it hard to learn how to solder and un-solder things? ive checked out seymour duncan's website, and it seems like, it isnt TOO hard...

 

[Tim]

i just found a site called: Guitar Fetish Sales that makes a variety of pickups for about a 1/3 of the price of the Custom Shop pickups. Ive heard a bunch of good things about these pickups, im looking to get these: http://store.guitarfetish.com/provalstpiou.html or
http://store.guitarfetish.com/pralstpiourb.html

has anyone had any experience with GFS? the only think that is holding me back is that it'll cost $30 each for my store to install them! I have no experience with soldering, so im a little worried about trying to install them myself. I contacted the guy there, and he said: "We do a pre wired guard with all high end stuff- Ornage Drop caps, CRL switches, cloth wired- your choice of pickps- hand wired here for $135"

i thought that this might make things cheaper, but i guess not. is it hard to learn how to solder and un-solder things? ive checked out seymour duncan's website, and it seems like, it isnt TOO hard...

I have heard of Guitar Fetish. The delivery and products there are OK. I understand the site is an “EBay” store. Remember that you get what you pay for. Younger players rave at the low cost of the merchandise there. I have not heard outstanding reports on the quality of the goods. I looked into strat pickups about one year ago. They all come from Korea or China.

You might what to look into the Seymour Duncan site and then visit the forum: http://www.seymourduncan.com/
The forum has tons of information on these American made and high quality products.

Hope this helps.

 

[marnold]

i thought that this might make things cheaper, but i guess not. is it hard to learn how to solder and un-solder things? ive checked out seymour duncan's website, and it seems like, it isnt TOO hard...

I know very little about soldering, but I intend to learn more when I do my guitar project. The previous owner obviously used this guitar as a project guitar. The pup installation was a bit of a hatchet job. I figure I can't make it worse Since you aren't soldering near the pickups themselves, the chances of you destroying something expensive should be limited.

 

[Tim]

I know very little about soldering, but I intend to learn more when I do my guitar project.

Marnold/Magic,

Soldering is not that hard of a thing to do. The most important thing to consider is to use a low wattage iron. No more than 15 watts. R.S. has plenty to choose from. The gas operated ones found at R.S. get way too hot. Anything above 15 watts melts the wire's plastic covering and other soft objects. Also use alligator clips as heart sinks on the delicate work.

Keep your work neat. Layout and measure your work before you start.

Here are some helpful sites:

http://www.irational.org/sic/radio/solder.html

http://www.seas.upenn.edu/ese/rca/funstuff/soldering/soldering.html

http://www.bhi.co.uk/hints/solder.htm

Hope this helps.

 

[MagicBaller21]

You might what to look into the Seymour Duncan site and then visit the forum: http://www.seymourduncan.com/
The forum has tons of information on these American made and high quality products.

Yeah, the Seymour Duncan HQ is really close to where i live. I've been thinking about the JB Jr., so i can get some of my more distorted tones with a single-coiled humbucker in the bridge. I really dont like the bridge as is, and i want something warmer, kinda buttery.

THe problem is, one pickup is $70!!! That's more expensive than a whole set at GFS! Ive only got about $175 right now (from Christmas leftovers), but i dont particularly want to spend it all on one thing. Ive been thinking about getting a new guitar all together (Squier '51), but I'm not too sure, ill have to try one out.

 

[Tim]

Robert - Someone is knocking at your door!

 

[MagicBaller21]

i dont want this to turn into a '51 thread, but with all the pickup research, i have forgotten to actually play my guitar!!!! i got a bad monkey (i love it) and with the correct settings, im pretty happy with my pickups!! (i know.. i know, i change my mind a lot) Robert's shred videos have really peaked my interest in the '51. of course, im gonna try one out sometime soon, but are these problems that ive heard about (saddle/bridge problems and other stuff) are they hard to fix?

at my local store i have about a $35 credit, and i feel the need to buy something with it!!!! will i be unsatisfied if i get this, after having my MIM strat? i mean, i always thought that my second guitar would be a les paul or SG, and costing more than my strat.

 

[Robert]

Get a '51 - it's got good pickups and you'll be a happy man considering how little dough you spend. The problems with the '51 are minor. I have no bridge problems with mine. GFS pickups are pretty good I hear - they'd be worth their cost too I think. If I bought pickups now, I'd look into DiMarzio Virtual Vintage or Bill Lawrence pickups - they are both noiseless and very nice. Not overly expensive either.

 

[Nelskie]

Sounds like you've worked yourself into a corner there, Magic. But nothing that can't be settled by simply buckling down, and making a few decisions. First, I don't know what kind of bad stuff you've heard about the Fender Vintage Noiseless p'ups - I have them in my Squier Tele, and they sound very nice. I've had them in for about a year, and never once have I had any gripes about their tone, or their performance. Clean, dirty, or twangly, they cover all of the Fender tone bases quite well, so naturally, I would have no problem recommending a set of them for your Strat (I think they're around $130 for a set). Fender-designed pickups + a Fender-designed guitar = good Fender tone. Pretty simple strategy.

I've also seen the GFS pickups on Ebay, and like Tim, I've been wary of the quality. I totally agree with his point on "you get what you pay for", and if it were me, I'd stick with p'ups that have a well-known company standing behind them, and professional players who endorse them. You can't go wrong with anything that says DiMarzio, Seymour Duncan, Fender, Bill Lawrence, Lindy Fralin, etc. Pickups are a vital part of the sound / tone equation, so my advice is not to skimp - regardless of the price. Cheap pickups usually = crappy tone, and a guitar w/ crappy tone is certainly not one that's played regularly.

And speaking of playing regularly, that is what you should really be doing instead of stewing over this stuff. But hey, what do I know. If it were me, I'd give your MIM Strat a fair shot with some different pickups. Since you're already familiar with playing this instrument, and from what it sounds like, you dig the axe - here's my suggestion. Use that $35 credit at your local music shop, and order yourself a good set of Strat p'ups. Have their tech put 'em in so you know it's done right the first time, and you have no worries. Take 'er home, plug in, and dig your tasty, newly-improved Strat tone.

Your local guitar shop is happy, you're happy, and you have a brand new tone eminating from your favorite axe!! Sounds like a winner to me!! Good luck!!

 

[tremoloman]

Fender Custom Shop '69s are a bargain. I bought the complete set for $129 w/shipping last summer. Its one of the best deals out there, just like the Squier '51!

If any of you install them, trust me - you won't regret it. Any Jimi fan will be in heaven with 'em.

 

[Bloozcat]

The GFS pickups are pretty good pickups for the money. I'd dare to say that if the prices were higher, they might attract even more buyers from among those who now believe that you can't get good pickups at bargain prices.

The pickups are made in Korea to Jay's specifications. Jay used to wind his own and has experimented with many different combinations to get specific tones.

I put a GFS Rectrotron Liverpool humbucker in my '51, and I couldn't be happier with it. With it's Alnico magnets, it's a little warmer than the stock '51 humbucker, but it still has that jangly edge that suits the '51 so well.

Although I haven't tried them all personally, I've heard nothing but good things about most of the GFS pickups - single coils included.